GLOCKENSPIEL

Glockenspiel. Click on the audio icon beneath the art to hear the sound of a glockenspiel. (German: set of bells), percussion instrument, originally a set of graduated bells, later a set of tuned steel bars (i.e., a metallophone) struck with wood, ebonite, or, sometimes, metal hammers. The bars are arranged in two rows, the second corresponding to the black keys of the piano. The range is 2 1/2 or, occasionally, 3 octaves, the highest note normally the fourth C above middle C (written two octaves lower). Military bands use a portable form with a lyre-shaped frame, called a bell lyre. A glockenspiel may be fitted with a keyboard mechanism so that chords can be played. The glockenspiel became part of the orchestra in the 18th century. The tubaphone is a softer-toned offspring of the glockenspiel. It is used in military bands and has metal tubes rather than bars.